Hera Syndulla, will make her live action debut in Star Wars: Ahsoka. Now the actress who plays her has veiled what changes fans of the character can expect with respect to Rebels.
The crew of the Ghost is ready to appear in Star Wars: Ahsoka. And the fan-favorite Twi’lek will have his first live-action appearance with the actress from Birds of prey, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, playing the character. She will replace voice actress Vanessa Marshall, who voiced her in the animated series. Star Wars: Rebels.
As part of a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actress described how the character has changed since fans last saw her on rebels.
Winstead noted that the biggest difference between Ahsoka’s Hera and the version that appears in Rebels is that this earlier iteration is “something of a legend in his own right” and now she’s even more of a leader “maternal” of the crew:
“I see Hera as an incredibly strong but complicated person… She’s very motherly, but she’s also the leader of this team. And, as we see, she goes on and becomes a general. So she’s leading a lot of people and has become something of a legend in her own right.”
He also called the character “very soft and warm”: “She is also very soft and warm, and people come to her for advice and comfort. Seeing those things combined is very unusual. It’s something that I really wanted to reproduce on screen, because I think it’s something very aspirational, like a woman, or just a person, can be all those things in one.”
But, according to Winstead, that doesn’t mean her Star Wars character is perfect: “She’s certainly not perfect, but she has all those qualities that make her someone you can really look up to in a way. And I like trying to be that on the show. I don’t know if I’m up to it really, but he’s someone to try and try to catch up with.”
The Ahoksa star called it “incredible” to play a character that already existed in canon. “To have a character that already existed and has such a rich history in something like Rebels, as an actress, it’s incredible. Because sometimes we’re tasked with creating our own backstories or trying to develop a character that doesn’t really have that much on the page. And so to play a character that has season after season of complex storylines and storylines with everyone in her life and relationships and her experiences was really something I’ve never experienced like that.”
He added that having Rebels and creator Dave Filoni on set was “a treat” for that reason: “Having ‘Rebels’ as a reference, and having [el creador de ‘ Rebels’ y ‘ Ahsoka’, Dave Filoni] To talk about it every day on set, it was a real treat, no doubt.”
What differences will Syndulla have between Ahsoka and Star Wars Rebels?
For the most part, Ahsoka and Rebels share a lot of connective tissue. The next series has basically been called a “continuation” from that Rebels story.
But just because Ahsoka will be a de facto Rebels season 5, there are still going to be some major differences. Obviously, time has passed since we last saw the ghost crew. Much of Rebels (aside from its epilogue at the end of the series) takes place before the events of A New Hope.
The characters will be a bit older, having lived lives since the last time fans saw them. This is demonstrated in Hera “becoming general”as described by star Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
And the biggest differences will come when the new actors take on some of these iconic Rebels characters. While some familiar faces will continue their parts from the Disney XD animated series, others will be reinvented as new actors step in for Ahsoka.
These new stars will generate familiar feelings but ultimately different interpretations of the beloved Ghost crew. We must also not forget that Hera had a child with Kanan, so it will be interesting to know if she appears in the series and if she has inherited her father’s abilities with the force. That also explains why Winstead describes her as motherly to her. Being a mother certainly also changes people.
Ahsoka Trailer
Ahsoka will premiere on Disney+ in August. You can watch all the seasons of Rebels on the platform with your subscription.